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Laura writes ...

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

After receiving numerous reports from DtB readers to the same effect, Team USA Minnesota has now made it official: Josh Moen and Macharia Yuot are the newest members of the Twin Cities-based training group.

The pair joins original Team USA Minnesota members Matt Gabrielson, Jason Lehmkuhle, and Chris Lundstrom and 2007 signee Antonio Vega on the men's side of the eight-year-old elite distance running development program.

Former University of Minnesota star Andrew Carlson and Brad Lowery have left the squad in recent weeks. Carlson will train with an Adidas-supported group in Flagstaff, Arizona, while Lowery has returned to his native South Dakota to attend graduate school.

Moen, 26, who grew up in Readlyn, Iowa, and graduated from Wartburg College in 2005, was a five time NCAA Division III champion in cross country and track at the Waverly, Iowa school. Previously affiliated with the Michigan-based Hanson's-Brooks training group, Moen has been a three-time member of the USA's Chiba Ekiden team.

Moen has a personal best of 28:31.08 for 10,000 meters on the track and a 28:58 road 10K PR. He has twice finished 4th in the USA 10K Championships. Sporting a 1:04:37 half marathon best, Moen will make his marathon debut at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on October 5. Moen has been training with Team USA Minnesota since August 1.

Yuot, 26, is a Widener University graduate originally from Sudan. Like 2008 U.S. Olympic flag-bearer Lopez Lomong, Yuot was one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan" who arrived in the United States in 2000 after fleeing political and religious persecution in their home country. Yuot was a six-time NCAA Division III champion at Widener. He became a U.S. citizen in 2007.

Since completing his collegiate eligibility in the fall of 2006, Yuot has run three marathons including the U.S. Men's Olympic Marathon Trials. His PR in the event is 2:18:58. This year, he placed seventh in the USA 10K Championships, 10th at the USA 8K Championships, and 13th at the USA 15K Championships. Yuot joined Team USA Minnesota in mid-August.

Photos of Yuot (left) and Moen (right) by Victor Sailer, courtesy of Team USA Minnesota.